Call of Duty: Ghost Squadron
by noob622
Summary: A detailed account of Ghost Squad during the events in Call of Duty 4, featuring the iconic character Simon "Ghost" Riley. Led by Ghost-1, Captain Antonio Lee, and spearheaded by Lt. Shepard, Ghost Squad is deployed in special engagements. This fan-fiction is as authentic as possible, including correct timelines, back-stories, weapons, vehicles, and actual game dialogue.
1. Chapter I: Wet-Work

Call of Duty: Ghost Squadron

Part I: Wet-Work

[Takes place during the events in call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare]

_"Khaled Al-Asad. Currently the Second most powerful man in the Middle East. Word on the street is he's got the minerals to be top dog down there. Intel's keeping an eye on him. But we have worse news."_

_"And the bad news?"_

_"We've got a new guy joining us today, fresh out of selection. His name's Soap"_

_"Great. Send in the FNG. What the hell kind of name is 'Soap?'"_

_"I don't know sir….hold on...Just got a call from Lieutenant Shepard. He says Ghost Team won't be there to back us up in the Ship Op. They got called in for another mission; we're on our own._

_"What could Ghost team possibly be doing? It's not like Antonio to turn down some Wet-Work."_

_"Whatever it is, he can't be having more fun then we're about to have. I'll go meet the FNG at the firing range."_

Ghost-1 turned off his safety as two trucks pulled up to the meeting spot. "We got two tangos exiting the vehicles. One looks like it's him. Confirm his identity."

_"Identity confirmed. That's our guy."_ Ghost-6 chimed on the radio. Good, Ghost-1 thought. We're running out of time.

"Keep your eyes on those sentries on the roof, Ghost-6." Their target was talking to someone from the other vehicle. He nodded his head, and pointed to the truck behind him. Ghost-1 looked into the truck window."Ghost-6, do you have a clear sight into the window?" he asked.

_"Roger."_

"Is that who I think it is in the passenger seat?"

_"Roger. That's him. Holy hell."_ Ghost-6 whispered.

"Overlord, we have eyes on what looks like the President. Requesting permission to engage and rescue." Ghost-1 said. After a pause, Overlord came on_._

_"Do you have a positive ID on President Al-Fulani?"_ Overlord asked.

_"Negative, he has a bag over his head,"_ Ghost-1 replied. There was some scuffling on the mike, before Overlord's voice changed to Lt. Shepard's.

_"Permission Granted, Ghost-1. I'll take the risk. Engage and rescue the President."_

"Roger that." Ghost-1 centered the taller man of the two, the suspected kidnapper, in his scopes. He fired. A 50 Caliber bullet flew 300 yards and hit the man in the shoulder. "Target Down." He watched as Ghost-4 and 5 approached the target area. The uninjured man, the one they've been tailing, pulled out a Desert Eagle pistol, firing at the advancing Ghost team. He ducked and jumped in the truck containing the President. "Damn. AL-Asad has the President. Ghost-3, tell me you have eyes on that truck."

"_Roger, Ghost-1. We have eyes on a red Chevrolet, moving west along AL-Freda Highway. Permission to engage?"_

"Negative! We cannot risk it! Tell Ghost-2 at the roadblock to intercept them!" Ghost-3 was in a Little Bird, orbiting the highway, while Ghost-2 had set up a roadblock. "Ghost-3, circle around and pick us up! Ghost-2, do you have a visual?"

_"Affirmative. I have eyes on the truck. Clear shot to the tires."_

"Take it!" shouted Ghost-1. Ghost-2 shot a concentrated burst from her M16 assault rifle into the truck's left front tire. The truck skidded, before rolling over and landing in a ditch. Ghost-1, now onboard the helicopter with Ghost-3 and 6, said, "Albright, Ghost-2, move in."

"_Moving."_ They watched as she circled the overturned truck. She closed in, just as Khaled AL-Asad was crawling from the passenger window. _"No-no-no,"_ She said_, "Don't want you getting away,"_ She put her boot on top of AL-Asad's chest, and reached inside the vehicle, ripping off the President's bag. _"It's him. We got him, he's unharmed"_ she said. "_Sorry for the bumpy ride, Mr. President, but-"_ She sputtered mid-sentence as a bullet pierced her chest. She looked down, as a second one shot through. Ghost-2 dropped.

"No!" Ghost-1 yelled. Behind Ghost-2 stood a man, about 6'1, bald, in a grey jacket, holding AL-Asad's Desert Eagle. He motioned, and two armed guards fired an RPG at Ghost-3's chopper.

_"Whoa! Hold on!"_ Ghost-3 yelled as he struggled to dodge the rocket. Meanwhile, the man helped up AL-Asad, and two men behind him grabbed President AL-Fulani from the overturned truck. All four men entered an armored van and sped off.

"Ghost-5, are we tracking that van!" Ghost-1 yelled.

"_Negative, sir. They're gone."_


	2. Chapter II: Debriefing

Part 2: Debriefing

[Takes place during the events in call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare]

Antonio didn't stay for the whole funeral. He couldn't bear it. It was his bad decision as a leader that Katherine now laid in a coffin. He never should have left Ghost-2 man the highway checkpoint on her own. Yet she had convinced Antonio that it was the most logical course of action. Ghost-2 could blend in, turn almost invisible, a true "ghost". She had a tan-complexion, so could be mistaken for someone of middle-eastern descent. No one would notice a lonely woman, by the side of the highway, selling fruit. So Ghost-1 let her go. In the middle of Lt. Shepard's Eulogy, he got up and left. Just as he entered the Hive, Samuel ran up to him. "You have to see this." He said, face solemn. He pointed to the TV behind them. On the screen was some Arabic new program. The bottom corner was the word "LIVE". The footage was showed three men, surrounded by multiple armed militia members. One man, who wore a red beret, was riling the crowd up. Antonio's Arabic was a little rusty, but he did pick up a few scattered words, "revolution," "lies," unjust". Another man to the right of the first one handed him a pistol, and Antonio recognized it as an Israeli-built standard-model Desert Eagle. Antonio instantly knew the man was Katherine's killer. When someone takes a friend from your life, you never forget their face. The first man pointed the pistol at the man tied up on his knees.  
"Is that-"Antonio never finished, because then Al-Asad executed President Al-Fulani, live on national television.

Ghost-3 was the last to join the rest of Ghost team in the debriefing room. "Now, we can start." Ghost-1 said."Very well. First of all, welcome your new addition, Simon. He will be alongside you in this next mission." Lt. Shepard gestured to a man sitting at the table, adjacent from Aaron. Antonio studied the looks of his team. Though the masked their emotions well, he knew that they looked upon the new recruit as an outsider. Just less than a month from Katherine's death, and they already had a replacement. But his team needed to shuffle their emotions into the back of their mind. There was a job to do, regardless of personal feelings. "America has deployed their finest right now, looking for Al-Asad. As we speak the First Force Reconnaissance company is storming possible locations and safe houses. We will find him. But your target is this," He pointed at the screen. It displayed a medium-sized black case, about the size of a microwave oven. "We have substantial evidence to believe that this is a nuclear device. We also have reason to believe that is to be transported from Azerbaijan to an unknown location tomorrow morning. Your mission is to intercept the convoy transporting it, and get it into friendly hands. An SAS team has found a similar device on a Russian cargo ship, indicating that the device may be Russian supplied." He motioned again to the screen. "The convoy will be heavily defended by local militia. You are looking at MG trucks, armed foot mobiles, and, most importantly, about 3-4 BM2 armored vehicles." The tension in the room grew.

"BM2s? That's pretty heavy stuff for a local militia to have. Does the Azerbaijani government know about this?" Robert asked.

"They refuse to get involved. Tensions with them are at an all-time high. They denied our requests for any troop deployment on their soil." Lt. Shepard replied. "Which is why this is a stealth operation. You need to get in and out with little causalities possible. Just in case you are observed, you are going to be disguised as Georgian rebels. Securing this device is vital, because wherever it's going is definitely not good, especially if it puts US troops at stake. Suit up, you leave in 6 hours." Ghost team stood up, saluted, and left the room. The new recruit, Simon was his name, stayed and started talking to the lieutenant. He nodded his heads a few times, and then walked out the door. It was clear to Antonio that he did not want to be here. Antonio wondered about his past. Ghost team members were picked from select Britain and US Special Forces. They even recruited out of SAS and Navy Seal teams. He was curious as to where Simon came from. He buried those questions in his mind. He'd catch up with the soldier later. Now was the time to think, and prepare. Antonio walked out the room.


	3. Chapter III: Anomaly

Part 3: Anomaly

[Takes place during the events in call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare]

Antonio awoke with a start, to Robert screaming over the mic. "Ghost-1! Do you hear me! I repeat; that BM2 is returning for another pass. Get out of there!" Antonio crawled from under the wreckage of the destroyed SUV, grabbing his G36C Assault Rifle on the way out. He stood up and started to move, when an explosion from his left sent him tumbling to the side, onto his back. He saw the armored vehicle approaching, firing its cannon. Antonio dived and rolled and another shell hit. He spotted Ghost-3, in a firefight with four or five enemies.  
"Ghost-3, give me some smoke!" he said. Ghost-3 nodded, and threw a canister over Ghost-1's head, just a few meters from the BM2. It exploded and expelled thick, grey smoke. Antonio took that time to run to Ghost-3's position; an overturned Honda. "Where are they?! They should be here by now!" Antonio yelled on the com.  
"Sorry," Ghost-5, Aaron, replied, "Stopped for some drive-thru. Here's the cavalry." Ghost-5 was in a heavily modified AH-1 Cobra. Ghost team had previously used this chopper on various missions, and had changed it as needed. It sported a black metallic paint job, a gold windshield, and various stealth capabilities. It was also heavily armed, with Hellfire and Sidewinder missiles, dual 45mm chain guns, and a recent addition, an experimental air-to-air EMP system. Lt. Shepard had described it as "being able to sneak into hell and fight its way back. I call it Hell Razor" Ghost-5 locked on to the BM2 and fired two rockets, which was more than sufficient to reduce the armored vehicle to a pile of smoking scrap metal. Ropes fell out of the Cobra, and Ghost-6, 4, and 3 repelled down and immediately engaged the enemies.  
"Eyes on the target, in a truck about 45 meters up the highway. Ghost-5, patrol the air, and make sure that truck doesn't leave."  
"On it." He replied, and the helicopter flew, circling the target truck.  
"Everyone else, on me. We're getting to that truck. Ghost-6," Simon looked at him. "You're our best shot. Stay back here and provide cover fire. Pick off anyone who tries to escape or call for reinforcements." Ghost-6 nodded and unslung his M21 sniper rifle, and steadied it, and gave the thumbs up symbol. "Alright, let's move!" Ghost-2 moved up the middle of the highway, and ducked behind a truck. Ghost-3 hopped over the overturned Honda and fired his MP5 SMG, nailing an enemy in the head. Ghost-1 looked up and spotted an enemy firing an AK at Ghost-2. Antonio aimed and squeezed the trigger of his rifle. A quick burst hit the man in the shoulder, making him fling his AK-47. Ghost-6 fired his sniper rifle, hitting the man in the head. Ghost-1 had no time to admire the shot, because an enemy had manned an MG truck, firing and pinning Ghost-4 behind the smoldering BM2. Ghost-2 rolled, pulled out a grenade, and tossed it at the truck. It bounced twice and exploded, flipping the pickup onto its side, sending the passenger soaring. Ghost-1 moved up, just a few meters from their target truck.  
"Uh, we got some company. I'm reading an incoming Hind, standard Azerbaijani government licensed. Permission to engage." Ghost-5 asked. Ghost-1 winced. If the Azerbaijani Government was sending reinforcements already, it meant that they knew Ghost team was coming. So much for stealth.  
"Permission Granted." Antonio replied.  
"I was hoping you'd say that. Let's test out Shepard's new toy, shall we?" Ghost-5 swung the Cobra to face the advancing Mi-24 Attack Helicopter. He powered up the EMP, and locked on. The Hind Pilot, probably knowing from the skyrocketing electromagnetic readings his dials were telling him, knew that whatever that chopper was doing was going to be bad. He opened fire, helplessly hitting the hull of Hell Razor with useless bullets. Ghost-5 fired the EMP. Antonio didn't see anything, yet suddenly the enemy Hind went haywire, spinning in circles. The Azerbaijani pilot watched in grim horror as all his electronics overloaded and sparked and alarms blared. The Hind went down, skidding along the highway and exploding. Unfortunately, it also separated Ghost-1 from his team.  
It doesn't matter, Ghost-1 thought. He circled the truck, pointing the barrel of his G36C at the driver's seat. He carefully walked to the back, and, rifle at the ready, opened the back. Inside was filled with various weapons and explosives, and barrels of an unknown substance. A small silver case lay in the middle, about the size of a microwave. Antonio climbed up into the truck, and approached the case. He lifted his hand up and pulled off his mask. Most people thought his skull-decaled mask was simply for appearance, but in actuality, its functionality extended beyond that. It was weaved from a special Indian cloth that acted as an effective filter for smoke and particles. Ghost-1 would wear it on every mission, as it intimidated his enemies. Now, he pulled it off and held it in his hand. Antonio reached and opened the lid to the silver case. The rigged explosive inside beeped. Antonio stared at the 3 kilograms of wired C-4. "It's a-"

He didn't finish, as the truck exploded in a blinding light.


	4. Chapter IV: Safe House

Part 4: Safe House

[Takes place during the events in call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare]

He was lucky. Extremely lucky. A blast like that could have killed 20 men. Even Ghost-5, up in an armored helicopter, felt the explosion. Yet Ghost-1 only left with a few bruises and cracked ribs. Impossible, the medics said. Nothing short of a miracle. The whole team was happy to hear he was okay. They were not happy; however, to hear that in only a few weeks later Antonio was requesting another mission from Lt. Shepard. Jonathan had argued that Antonio didn't have to redeem himself of any failure. It was bad Intel that made them fail their mission, not Antonio's decisions as a leader. Antonio reassured Ghost-3 that this was no personal redemption, rather a moral urge to get back into the action. Lt. Shepard happily obliged. So far the First Force Reconnaissance Company was having no luck in finding Al-Asad, after several false alarms. They have invaded the capital, and were now engaged, trying to lock onto Al-Asad's safe house. Then the threat was received. Intel had word that Al-Asad had a nuclear device in the city, no doubt the device that Ghost Team had failed to retrieve. The order was sent to evacuate, as EOD teams tried to disable the bomb. It was then that Lt. Shepard had a lock on Al-Asad's position. When Antonio found out, he requested permission to retrieve Al-Asad. Shepard denied it immediately, not willing to take the risk. Finally, Ghost Team persuaded him to give up a Sea Knight and 10 minutes, in an off-the-book mission. Antonio and his team suited up and deployed to Al-Asad's supposed location. That led to now, as Antonio watched out the back of the helicopter, as dozens of aircraft and ground vehicles vacated the city. The Sea Knight was headed to a location in the safe zone, but the fastest route to it from base was above the capital. It descended as the pilot warned on the com.

"We have only ten minutes of fuel. So we need to grab this guy and get the hell out before that nuke goes off."

"Affirmative. We won't need that long." Ghost-1 replied. He looked at his team as they readied weapons and gear. Antonio reached up and pulled on his mask. They needed to be quick as Ghosts today. The com was then flooded with chatter from another Sea Knight Pilot.

"I repeat, we have a Cobra down. Command, I have a visual on the crash site. I can see small arms fire coming from the cockpit. Requesting permission to launch a search and rescue."

"Copy 2-5, be advised: You will not be at a safe distance in the event that nuke goes off. Do you understand?"

"Roger that. We know what we're getting into." The pilot replied. Ghost-1 had to admire the man's bravery. He watched as a Sea Knight to their left circled a crashed Cobra, and landed in a clearing near it, and a squad exited the vehicle. He wished them luck as they faded from view. Ghost-4 walked over to Ghost-1.

"You okay, sir?" Antonio nodded, and Samuel did to. Then he asked, "What if Al-Asad's not there?"

"Then we have succeeded about as much as the First Force did at finding Al-Asad. He can't run forever. "Then Ghost-4 said what was really on his mind.

"It's not our fault. All of this. We couldn't have known that convoy was a dud. And couldn't have known that nuke was going to put hundreds of lives at stake." Antonio looked down. Then why did he feel like he could've stopped it. He tried to shuffle the feelings aside. Maybe nabbing Al-Asad would make him feel better.

"HOLD ON!"

The horizon blinked white, and a shockwave hit the Sea Knight, sending it in a downward spiral. Antonio struggled to hold on as the landscape out the back turned into a blur. "Mayday! Mayday! This is Bravo 3-7 Phantom. We are going down!"


	5. Chapter V: Epilogue

Part 5: Epilogue

[Takes place during the events in call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare]

Simon woke to a pounding headache. In a brief moment of confusion, he thought he was still in the Sea Knight, strapped in to a passenger seat, but in a moment he recognized the floral wallpaper of the general infirmary. He also realized he was only seeing through one eye, which called his attention to his wounds. He had a bandage on his right eye and a cast on his left arm. He had blood stained gauze running under his gown across his chest, hinting at broken ribs. He was attached to an IV station on his right wrist, just underneath his bandaged hand. Simon inhaled and exhaled, struggling to keep back a painful yell. He then noticed the figure beside his bedside. Lt. Shepard stood completely still, something in his hands. He looked at Simon.  
"How are you?" he asked.  
"Honestly, I've been better." Just talking almost made him faint. "How's the rest of the team?" Lt. Shepard looked away, all that he needed to do for Ghost-6 to know that he was the only survivor.  
"It was my fault. I never should have authorized a mission in such a risky zone. I should have denied it, kept them here. And now I have to live with their blood on my hands. And look what they gave me." He turned, revealing to Simon the new insignia on Lt. Shepard's chest. "I lose my entire squad. And they make me a General. These stripes mean nothing to me but the death of my team." General Shepard took a deep breath. "When you are out of here, I've authorized six months of paid leave. I think you could use some time away from the front lines." Simon looked at him. The old man seemed…..tired? No. Beaten. He looked defeated.  
"You know I can't accept that. I relax with an assault rifle in my hand." He replied. General Shepard turned around.  
"Of course not, Simon. Always fighting." He pulled a folder out of his satchel. "I'm putting together another team. The best of the best. Led by the best damned soldier I can find. We work under no jurisdiction, we are not allied to any particular country. Sound interested?" Simon painfully smiled.  
"Sounds right up my alley."  
"Good." General Shepard put the folder down. "But don't worry about that now. You rest, get some R&R. You deserve it Simon. Or should I say codename Ghost." He put the object in his hand down on Simon's bed and walked out the room. Simon looked at the piece of cloth on his bed. It was a mask, decaled with a skull, made of a thick material. A reminder of his fallen commander. And an article of clothing that Simon would now wear for every mission for the rest of his life.


End file.
